The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: A Survey of the Empirical Literature

Abstract

This paper examines several recent avenues of empirical research into the enforcement of intellectual property rights. To frame these issues, we start with a stylized model of the patent litigation process. The bulk of the paper is devoted to linking the empirical literature on patent litigation to the parameters of this model. The four major areas we consider are (i) how the propensity to litigate patents varies with the expected benefits of litigation, (ii) the ways in which the cost of litigation affects the willingness to enforce patents, (iii) how the cost of enforcing patents changes the private value of patent rights, and (iv) the impact of intellectual property litigation on the innovation process itself.

References

Aoki, R., Hu, Jin-Li (1996). — “A Cooperative Game Approach to Patent Litigation, Settlement, and the Allocation of Legal Costs,” Unpublished working paper, State University of New York, Stony Brook.Google Scholar

Hall, Bronwyn H. (1992). — “Investment and Research and Development: Does the Source of Financing Matter?,” Working Paper No. 92–194, Department of Economics, University of California at Berkeley.Google Scholar

Hall, Bronwyn H. (1992). — “Investment and Research and Development: Does the Source of Financing Matter?,” Working Paper No. 92–194, Department of Economics, University of California at Berkeley.Google Scholar

Hughes, James, Snyder, E. (1995). — “Litigation and Settlement under the English and American Rules: Theory and Evidence,” The Journal of Law and Economics. Vol. 38, pp. 225–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Hylton, K. (1990). — “The Influence of Litigation Costs on Deterrence Under Strict Liability and Under Negligence,” International Review of Law and Economics. Vol. 10, pp. 161–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Koen, Mary S. (1991). — Survey of Small Business Use of Intellectual Property Protection: Report of a Survey of Conducted by MO-SCI Corporation for the Small Business Administration. Washington, Small Business Administration.Google Scholar